HMV

Loved this location the staff was especially knowledgable and helpful.

This HMV is in City Centre West and smaller than it’s original location in City Centre East. It’s across from Shoppers Drug Mart on the main floor.
Since it’s small, they seem to put as many items out as possible. The front of the store has gifts, including t-​shirts, glasses with superheroes and comics, blankets, mugs and other housewares. Sometimes they have them on sale for 25% off and for Black Friday they were 50% off. There’s also a selection of box sets too.
The rest of the store has movies and music. But what I’m impressed with at this store is the service. My last 2 visits, I was approached and asked if I needed help. One time I did, and they took time to help me find a product which I appreciated. Customer service isn’t a lost art at this HMV! Selection maybe smaller than the bigger stores, but they have the most recent stuff.

This HMV packed up and moved out of it’s much larger prior location in favor of a smaller store by Bunches Flowers and the move has brought mostly good changes. The staff seem alot friendlier and more eager to help. This smaller store also looks alot better stocked and organized. I had no issues finding what I was looking for and a number of titles similar to the movie I was looking at were close by which is a great way to get your customers interested in purchasing more without having to use pushy sales tactics. Some of the more obscure titles you would find in their 2 for 10 and 3 for 15 section are gone and they seem to have cut back alot on clearance merchandise space but I have to say for someone who never used to be a regular HMV shopper this store is well on it’s way to converting me.

Wow… haven’t been to this HMV in a while and it’s atmosphere has changed considerably in that time. Didn’t stay as it appears to me to have become HMV’s local clearance location… very bargain basement-​ish (think going out of business). Went to WEM instead
UPDATE: CLOSED

HMV is what it is: a big box chain store that sells the usual media you can get anywhere. They’ve branched into selling books now, which I found a bit odd — especially since where there’s an HMV, there is definitely a Chapter’s nearby. I’m impressed with how much they’ve dropped their prices, undoubtedly a necessary business move to stay afloat in the digital age. Alas, even I subscribe to Netflix and iTunes and cannot be motivated to purchase a CD or DVD anymore, so I only drop in here to buy gifts for my very non tech savvy parents.

My usual lunch walks in City Center always include a visit to HMV.
Although we’re bombarded with constant commercials of what’s out on Blu-​Ray this week, it’s always nice to see some of the odd unknown and foreign film releases they usually showcase in the front.
Rumors of HMV closing down does have me disappointed as I do enjoy walking through the aisles searching for any sales. Sometimes, if you look at the right time, HMV does have huge price reductions and sometimes carry exclusive collector’s items such as the Inception suitcase pack (for $ 30 right now!).
Unlike Futureshop or Bestbuy, they also have a graphic novel section which is a welcomed addition to the same old listings of video games, movies and music.
The downtown core does lack some variety when it comes to checking things out and I’m glad there’s a place to check out new media.

Does anyone buy CD’s anymore? After iTunes hit it big, I stopped buying actual CD’s. HMV is a good place to go and buy CD’s if you still like to purchase them. They have an awesome selection and the people who work here are really helpful.
I still like to go in here every once in a while to browse because sometimes it is easier to look in an actual store than on the online store like iTunes where you can’t pick up the CD’s and look at the songs.
HMV also sells lots of DVD’s and video games now, probably to make up for the lack of CD sales.

Whenever I’m walking through City Center and start to feel tired, I like to come to HMV to get myself re-​energized. They have awesome beats and their renovations make the store look very modern and streamlined. They always have some of the Top 40s music videos on their tvs and playing the music (loudly) on their speaker system.
Although they have a good selection of music cds, I prefer to look at their dvds and video games. It’s a bit weird since they did not have a lot of either a few years ago. I like coming here to buy dvds during their mix and match events (2 for $ 20 or $ 25) which usually tends to be a hard for other retailers to match. I also like browsing their tv box set collection. Although the selection is not as great at their largest location in West Edmonton Mall, I still find their selection sufficient if you need to find a quick gift.

This is one of those stores I have to stay out of or risk blowing my budget. Although I don’t buy CDs as much anymore because of the lower price and convenience of purchasing digital downloads, some of the prices here are so low it breaks my will. You can mix and match CDs for two or three for as low as $ 20 or $ 25. Same with DVDs, which are also inexpensive individually. HMV has really been diversifying its stock since the download revolution began, so gamers will find cool stuff here.

HMV used to be a very expensive CD music store, but it has defintiely gone through quite a few changes. Since downloading became the new trend, HMV starting selling more items like DVD movies, TV box sets, video games, and consoles. It was really a smart move, since they’d probably be out of business by now, if they didn’t make this change. Although a lot of the CDs are still expensive, the prices have changed too. There are really good deals on movies and select CDs like 2 for $ 15, $ 20, or $ 30. I usually find the selection of bargain CDs not the best, but the DVDs are usually really good. I stop myself from even browsing this store anymore, because I usually can’t resist buying a couple movies. The movie selection is good. It’s usually a mixture of everything, like big blockbusters, horror, and cult classics. I even bought Pan’s Labyrinth here for $ 6! The video games are kind of expensive, but not much more than they are anywhere else. I do like this downtown location, because it’s not overly big and confusing like the one at West Edmonton Mall.

Newly renovated, the Edmonton City Centre HMV shop now has a sleek corporate minimalist look, slightly different from its former cluttery ‘90s feel. Likely due to iPod and the decline of the CD market, they’ve branched out strongly into video games and DVD sales, cut down slightly on the CD selection and I even noticed a few books being hawked in the front window. Books? Now that’s stretching it a little.
HMV can be quite pricey but I occasionally go here and take advantage of the 2 for $ 20 or what have you CD and DVD deals. Buying music from chain stores isn’t something I’m very fond of, but after a Billy Bragg song came over the stereo during my last visit and the Spinal Tap DVD was on sale for $ 6, I’ve warmed up to them a little bit.